[0:30] Joined Under School 1988, up School in 1993. Wren’s and Grant’s, didn’t board. Slept on people’s floors occasionally. Enjoyed breakfast and supper – incentives to stay the night. Boarded during A Levels – came to arrangement with Busby’s House Master. Didn’t want to go home and get asked how exams were doing. [3:00] Carvings. In the Remove. Sense of crescendo. About to break up for half term, had come to same idea. Commemorative things being planned. Plans around Little Dean’s Yard from lots of students. [04:20] Weekday night, got up 1 or 2 in the morning. Staying in the Dungeons in Head Boy’s room. Eddie Smith, Deputy Head, ‘fierce policer’ on patrol. Had to coordinate. Midnight? Would have had more chimes to strike chisel. [06:04] No gate to Dean’s Yard. Laxer security. No key codes on doors. Jumped wall. Preferable to put names on main arch, but needed to be hidden from Little Dean’s Yard. Gate to School locked at night. Took tools and provisions. [07:26] Previous prank. Busby’s students ‘abseil’ into Common Room through window. Take packets of prawns, hide around Common Room. Started to rot three and a half weeks later. Boys had worn ‘SAS black ninja suits’. Garnett and Stevens inspired by dress. [08:55] Meticulous about preparation. Took an elastic band to hold Maglite. Did art and experienced in manual work, but little stone work experience. Garnett practised on red brick in father’s garden. First time carving on ‘proper stone’. [10:52] Showed other people, word got around. Returned many years later, Bursar hadn’t known it had been done. [11:55] Other things going on that night, detracted from the carving. Door slamming and shrieking all night. Spraying silver graffiti in Little Dean’s Yard. Sound of scraping stone above – got porcelain toilet up to corner of the Old Library, above Burlington Arch. Affixed to stone with ‘industrial cement’. [14:40] Chiselling too loud. Brought a mallet, but couldn’t use. Bought chisels from Tottenham Court Road and wrapped in cotton wool and tape so could strike chisels with palms of hands. Still loud – covered by noise of Big Ben’s chimes. Increased as the night went on. Resorted to scraping, not traditional technique. Finished at half five in the morning. Gloves in tatters, bleeding knuckles. [16:50] Took masking tape, chalk, and printed out ‘MG’ in Times New Roman. Marked out between parallel lines. Took rubber to rub out chalk. Stevens’ not marked out. [17:57] Eddie Smith summoned Stevens to office. Had discovered. Stevens’ name was removed. Attempted four initials while Garnett did two. Had planned MG 99 but ran out of time. No punishment. [19:35] Post-Westminster. Garnett to Cambridge, to reach Architecture. Stevens to Ruskin School of Art. Read about ‘night climbing’ tradition, tried some out. Inspired by name carving. [21:50] Post Westminster. Garnett working as architect. Stevens painter, studio in Paddington, in gothic church crypt. Odd jobs. [23:22] Told Andrew Bateman, art teacher. Would have been far easy to carve when originally laid as far softer, but had hardened over time.
